U.S. patent number 3,935,355 [Application Number 05/317,056] was granted by the patent office on 1976-01-27 for wrapping material.
Invention is credited to Hans Georg Kuhn.
United States Patent |
3,935,355 |
Kuhn |
January 27, 1976 |
Wrapping material
Abstract
An elongated wrapper which is initially flexible and which, when
wrapped around one or more bodies, is adapted to be stretched and
assume a substantially rigid condition. The wrapper has an outer,
elongated, tubular, elastic envelope assembly which is of a
generally flat cross section and which is adapted to surround one
or more bodies while being longitudinally stretched and wrapped
around the bodies. This envelope assembly has an inner surface
carrying one of a pair of materials which, when they combine, react
to assume a hardened condition. The other of these materials is
situated in the interior of the envelope assembly and is separated
from the one of the pair of materials by a separating layer
structure which is located in the envelope assembly between the
pair of materials separating them from each other to prevent them
from combining. This separating layer assembly has the property of
responding to the longitudinal stretching of the envelope assembly
when the latter is wrapped around one or more bodies to assume a
non-separating condition placing the materials in contact with each
other so that they will then combine to assume the hardened
condition.
Inventors: |
Kuhn; Hans Georg (D-1000 Berlin
19, DT) |
Family
ID: |
3627172 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/317,056 |
Filed: |
December 20, 1972 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 28, 1971 [OE] |
|
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11166/71 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
403/267;
24/704.2; 174/110SR; 174/120SR; 174/122G; 411/504; 428/152;
428/913; 604/365; 604/372; 24/707.9; 174/121SR; 174/124G; 428/138;
428/223; 602/6; 604/371 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
13/00029 (20130101); A61F 13/00059 (20130101); A61L
15/07 (20130101); A61L 27/14 (20130101); A61L
27/18 (20130101); A61L 27/40 (20130101); B29C
70/08 (20130101); E04C 2/20 (20130101); E04G
23/02 (20130101); A61L 27/18 (20130101); C08L
75/00 (20130101); C08L 67/06 (20130101); A61F
2013/00119 (20130101); A61F 2013/00182 (20130101); A61F
2013/00251 (20130101); A61F 2013/00846 (20130101); A61F
2013/00859 (20130101); Y10S 428/913 (20130101); Y10T
428/249923 (20150401); Y10T 24/505 (20150115); Y10T
403/472 (20150115); Y10T 428/24446 (20150115); Y10T
24/4634 (20150115); Y10T 428/24331 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/00 (20060101); A61L 15/00 (20060101); A61L
15/07 (20060101); A61L 27/18 (20060101); A61L
27/40 (20060101); A61L 27/00 (20060101); A61L
27/14 (20060101); E04G 23/02 (20060101); E04C
2/20 (20060101); E04C 2/10 (20060101); B32B
003/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;161/410,DIG.1,92,93,DIG.4,127,77 ;128/29W,29R,29P,155,156,90,89,87
;206/219
;428/138,139,140,152,230,236,246,251,252,253,273,284,285,287,431,913,223
;174/11SR,12R,12C,12SR,121R,121SR,121G,124G,124GC |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lesmes; George F.
Assistant Examiner: Silverman; S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Steinberg & Blake
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In an elongated wrapper which is initially flexible and which
when wrapped around one or more bodies is adapted to be stretched
and to assume a substantially rigid condition, outer, elongated,
tubular, impermeable, elastic envelope means having in a transverse
direction a width which is a relatively small fraction of its
length in a longitudinal direction and having a generally flat
cross sectional configuration for surrounding one or more bodies
while being stretched in said longitudinal direction and wrapped
around the bodies, said envelope means having an inner surface
carrying one of a pair of materials which when they combine react
to assume a hardened condition, said one material being distributed
in said longitudinal direction along said inner surface of said
envelope means and the other of said materials being situated in
the interior of said envelope means between opposed wall portions
thereof which extend in said longitudinal direction, and separating
means situated in the interior of said envelope means between said
materials and separating the latter from each other for preventing
them from combining with each other, said separating means
including an apertured layer of sheet material and a covering sheet
material which is relatively brittle and which has the property of
rupturing in response to stretching of said envelope means in said
longitudinal direction when said envelope means is wrapped around
one or more of said bodies, said covering sheet material being
adhered to and covering said apertured sheet material to close the
apertures thereof so that upon rupturing of said covering sheet
material in response to said longitudinal stretching of said
envelope means, said separating means will assume a non-separating
condition placing said materials in contact with each other through
apertures of said apertured sheet material so that they will
combine to assume said hardened condition in response to stretching
of said envelope means in said longitudinal direction and wrapping
of said envelope means around one or more bodies, said envelope
means and separating means both being transparent while said pair
of materials include a material which initially is non-transparent
but which becomes transparent when said pair of materials combine
with each other, so that the transparency resulting from the
combining of said pair of materials gives a visual indication of
the hardening reaction and renders visible that part of a body
which is covered by the wrapper.
2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a storing means extends
longitudinally along the interior of said envelope means for
storing said other material therein.
3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said storing means is in
the form of a layer of glass fibers impregnated with the other of
said materials.
4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said opposed wall
portions of said envelope means each extend transversely between
opposed side edge regions of said envelope means, and said one
material being distributed longitudinally along and coating inner
surfaces of said opposed wall portions to provide a pair of
longitudinally extending coatings of said one material respectively
carried by said inner surfaces of said opposed wall portions of
said envelope means, said separating means having a pair of
separating portions respectively connected with said oppposed wall
portions of said envelope means and defining with the latter a pair
of elongated chambers in which said coatings are located while
being prevented from combining with the other of said materials,
said other material being situated in said envelope means between
said portions of said separating means.
5. In an elongated wrapper which is initially flexible and which
when wrapped around one or more bodies is adapted to be stretched
and to assume a substantially rigid condition, outer, elongated,
tubular, impermeable, elastic envelope means having in a transverse
direction a width which is a relatively small fraction of its
length in a longitudinal direction and having a generally flat
cross sectional configuration for surrounding one or more bodies
while being stretched in said longitudinal direction and wrapped
around the bodies, said envelope means having an inner surface
carrying one of a pair of materials which when they combine react
to assume a hardened condition, said one material being distributed
in said longitudinal direction along said inner surface of said
envelope means and the other of said materials being situated in
the interior of said envelope means between opposed wall portions
thereof which extend in said longitudinal direction, and separating
means situated in the interior of said envelope means between said
materials and separating the latter from each other for preventing
them from combining with each other, said separating means
including an apertured layer of sheet material and a covering sheet
material adhered to and covering said apertured sheet material to
close the apertures thereof, said covering sheet material being
relatively brittle and having the property of rupturing when
responding to stretching of said envelope means in said
longitudinal direction when said envelope means is wrapped around
one or more of said bodies for providing for contact of said pair
of materials through apertures of said apertured sheet material to
place said separating means in a condition assuming a
non-separating condition placing said materials in contact with
each other so that they will combine to assume said hardened
condition in response to stretching of said envelope means in said
longitudinal direction and wrapping of said envelope means around
one or more bodies, said envelope means including an inner tubular
layer of plastic foil and an outer layer of elastic material joined
to said foil, said foil being in a crinkled condition compressed in
said longitudinal direction while said elastic material yieldably
resists elongation of said foil in said longitudinal direction to
lend elasticity to said foil.
6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said layer of elastic
material is in the form of a woven layer made up of elastic weft
and warp yarns with said warp yarns having a greater elasticity
than said weft yarns to provide said envelope means with a degree
of longitudinal elasticity which is substantially greater than the
degree of transverse elasticity.
7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said yarns of said woven
layer of elastic material include yarns having loops therein to
provide for interlocking of the windings of the outer envelope
means when the latter is wrapped around one or more bodies to
prevent slipping of the windings.
8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said envelope means
carries at its exterior a cushioning layer composed of a layer of
plastic material enclosing air bubbles therein.
9. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said outer envelope means
includes an inner layer of plastic foil which is impermeable to all
fluids and which is transparent, said plastic inner layer of said
envelope means carrying at its exterior a woven elastic layer of
substantial longitudinal stretchability and relatively small
transverse stretchability with said elastic layer being adhered to
said plastic foil by a transparent, highmolecular, elastic adhesive
layer of polyisobutylether and said plastic foil being in a
longitudinally crinkled condition while said elastic layer is
substantially relaxed so that the latter yieldably resists
elongation of said plastic foil to lend elasticity thereto.
10. The combination of claim 7 and wherein said plastic foil of
said outer envelope means has said opposed longitudinally extending
wall portions each of which extends transversely between opposed
side edges of said envelope means and said longitudinally extending
wall portions respectively having inner surfaces coated with said
one of said pair of materials, the other of said pair of materials
being a polymerizable material while said one material is a
hardener, for the polymerizable material, and said separating means
having a pair of elongated separating portions each of which has
opposed side edges joined to the inner surface of said envelope
means and said pair of separating portions defining with said
plastic foil of said envelope means a pair of longitudinally
extending chambers in which said hardener coatings are maintained
separated from said polymerizable material.
11. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said hardener coatings
are adhered to said inner surfaces of said opposed wall portions of
said foil by a transparent, non-oxidizing material which is easily
dissolved in an organic solvent medium and which is inert with
respect to the polymerizable material.
12. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said separating means
includes an apertured sheet material situated next to each coating
and made of a transparent foil which is inert with respect to the
hardener coating and polymerizable material, said covering sheet
material being made of a urea formaldehyde resin which is
transparent, relatively brittle and subject to rupturing, and inert
with respect to the polymerizable material and the hardener
coating.
13. The combination of claim 12 and wherein said covering sheet
material and said apertured sheet material are adhered to each
other by a layer of polyurethane.
14. The combination of claim 10 and wherein a storing means stores
said polymerizable material and is in the form of a layer of glass
fibers impregnated with said polymerizable material and having a
refractive index substantially the same as the refractive index of
said polymerizable material to be relatively transparent while said
envelope means and separating means are also transparent.
15. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material is an unsaturated polyester resin.
16. The combination of claim 15 and wherein said unsaturated
polyester resin has a diol component composed of glycol up to 6
carbon atoms.
17. The combination of claim 15 and wherein said unsaturated
polyester resin contains an additive of up to 20% selected from the
group consisting of acrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters,
and epoxy resins.
18. The combination of claim 10 and wherein the polymerizable
material contains an additive capable of absorbing ultraviolet
rays.
19. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material contains an additive selected from the group consisting of
self-extinguishing or flame-limiting materials.
20. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material contains polymerization inhibitors.
21. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material is combined with an accelerator.
22. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material is provided with coloring additives.
23. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material is provided with a filler of raw materials.
24. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said polymerizable
material is maintained in the interior of said envelope means by a
storing means in the form of a fleece layer of glass fibers which
act in the manner of a sponge for storing said polymerizable
material in a manner distributing the polymerizable material
uniformly with a given amount of polymerizable material being
provided for each unit of surface area of said envelope means.
25. The combination of claim 24 and wherein said glass fiber fleece
is composed of individual monofilaments which are flexibly and
elastically fixed to each other.
26. The combination of claim 24 and wherein the glass fiber fleece
is coated with a silane-containing adhesive medium.
27. The combination of claim 8 and wherein said elastic layer is
woven from warp yarns selected from the group consisting of highly
elastic polyurethane and crinkled, loop-forming, self-interlocking
polyamide and polyester fibers, and weft monofilaments selected
from the group consisting of crinkled, looped, self-interlocking
polyester and polyamide fibers.
28. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said other material is a
polymerizable material while said one material is a mixture of
organic peroxides.
29. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said other material is a
polymerizable material while said one material is a hardener
material mixed with a polyvinyl acetate-containing adhesive
medium.
30. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said envelope means and
separating means are both transparent while said other material is
a transparent polymerizable material, said one material being a
hardener material uniformly distributed witha given amount of
hardener material for each unit of area and composed of an amount
of peroxide which is non-transparent until combined with the
polymerizable material.
31. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said other material is a
polymerizable material while said one material is a hardener layer
joined to the inner surface of said envelope means, and said
separating means including a separating layer extending around said
hardener layer and having opposed edges welded or adhered to the
inner surface of said envelope means to define with the latter a
chamber in which said hardener layer is maintained separate from
said other material.
32. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said pair of materials
are respectively, a polymerizable material and a hardener therefor,
releasable fastener means coacting with windings of the wrapped
envelope means and the structure therein for fastening them to each
other, said releasable fastener means including a push member
having a pointed shank to pierce through the wrapping and a
receiving member having a recess for receiving the pointed shank,
and said shank being made of polystyrene while said polymerizable
material is a polyester with which said polystyrene becomes bonded
so that the polymerizable material will be united with said shank.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to wrappers.
Thus, the present invention relates to wrappers in the form of
ribbons, tapes, bandages, or the like, which are adapted to be
wrapped around one or more bodies for a number of different
purposes.
For many different purposes it is desirable to have a wrapper of
the above general type which is capable of being wrapped around one
or more bodies and which then is capable of assuming a hardened
condition. For this purpose it is known, for example, to provide a
fleece layer of glass fibers impregnated with polyester and
situated in a plastic envelope which also contains a hardener for
the polyester, the hardener being separated from the polyester and
being situated in its own envelope which is ruptured when the
wrapper is used so that the hardener is released to combine with
the polyester.
Known structures of this latter type have the disadvantage of a
non-uniform mixing of the hardener and polyester with development
of temperatures which are too high so that the desirable mechanical
properties are not achieved with the hardened polymer because of
brittleness on the one hand and flexibility on the other hand. A
further disadvantage of the known structures of the above type is
that the envelope has no elasticity or deformability so that it
cannot conform to the configuration of the body on which the
wrapper is wound.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to
provide a wrapper which will avoid the above drawbacks. Thus, it is
an object of the present invention to provide a wrapper which is in
its entirety elastically deformable so that it will conform to any
configuration of a body on which the wrapper is wound.
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to distribute
over a relatively large area in a uniform manner a hardener
coating, on the one hand, as well as to provide a uniform
distribution of a polymerizable material, so that with the wrapper
of the invention there will be a uniform transfer from the elastic,
flexible condition into a mechanically rigid condition.
The elongated wrapper of the present invention, which is initially
flexible and which when wrapped around one or more bodies is
adapted to be stretched and to assume a substantially rigid
condition, includes an outer, elongated, tubular, elastic envelope
means having a generally flat cross-sectional configuration for
surrounding one or more bodies while being longitudinally stretched
and wrapped around the bodies. This envelope means has an inner
surface carrying one of the pair of materials which when combined
with each other react to assume a hardened condition, this one
material being distributed longitudinally along an inner surface of
the envelope means while the other of the materials is situated in
the interior of the envelope means between the opposed
longitudinally extending wall portions thereof. A separating means
is situated in the interior of the envelope means between these
materials to separate them from each other so as to prevent them
from combining with each other. The separating means has the
property of responding to the longitudinal stretching of the
envelope means, when the latter is wrapped around one or more of
the bodies for assuming a non-separating condition placing the
above materials in contact with each other so that they will then
combine to assume the hardened condition in response to the
stretching and wrapping of the envelope means around one or more
bodies. The various materials which are used in the wrapper of the
invention are selected so as to be adapted to the particular
purposes for which the wrapper is intended. Thus, in all cases, all
the materials have the property of being capable of withstanding
environmental conditions. Moreover, the outer envelope means is
impermeable to fluids and is transparent, and in fact the entire
wrapper is transparent when it assumes its hardened condition.
However, one of the materials which combine to give the wrapper its
hardened condition is initially opaque but has the property of
becoming transparent when the materials combine, so that by
becoming transparent a visual indication is given of the hardening
reaction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying
drawings which form part of this application and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic fragmentary perspective illustration of
various layers of material which form one embodiment of a wrapper
of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the wrapper of the
invention showing in greater detail how the various layers of FIG.
1 coact with each other;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional elevation of the
wrapper of FIG. 2 showing additional details thereof;
FIG. 4 illustrates one example of how the wrapper of the invention
may be used;
FIG. 5 is a partly sectional elevation of a fastener means which
may be used with the wrapper of the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the fastener of FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the description which follows the invention is described in
connection with its use in the field of human or veterinary
medicine, but it is to be understood that the wrapper of the
invention has many additional uses in industry where it can be used
in the electrical, shipbuilding, aircraft, autombile, and other
industries at any location where parts are to be united or
strengthened by a wrapper which is wrapped in such a way that after
wrapping it will assume a rigid condition.
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated therein a storing
means 1 which forms the innermost part of the wrapper of the
invention. This storing means 1 takes the form of a reinforcing or
strengthening material composed of a fleece of glass fibers which
is thoroughly impregnated with a polymerizable material such as an
unsaturated polyester resin, with the storing means 1 acting in the
manner of a sponge for holding the polymerizable material in a
relatively stable condition uniformly distributed within the
wrapper of the invention. The unsaturated polyester resin which is
neither too brittle nor too elastic has mechanical stiffness
characteristics which are adapted to the particular use for which
the wrapper is designed.
The glass fiber fleece layer 1 which is impregnated with the
polymerizable material is situated within an envelope means 10
which is shown in a transverse view in FIG. 2. This envelope means
10 is made up of an inner layer 12 of plastic foil and an outer
layer 14 of a woven elastic material which gives to the foil 12 the
required elasticity, in a manner described in greater detail below.
The plastic foil layer 12 of the envelope means 10 is made up of a
pair of ribbons or strips 2 of plastic foil, these bands or ribbons
2 being joined together at their side edges so as to form the
enclosure in which the storing means 1 is located together with the
polymerizable material. For this purpose the pair of separate
strips 2 are welded to each other at their side edges or these side
edges may be adhered to each other or seamed together in any manner
providing the envelope means 10 with a structure according to which
the space within the envelope means is completely enclosed and shut
off from the outer atmosphere, this envelope means 10 having the
property of being impermeable to fluids. The elongated envelope
means 10 is closed at its ends in the same way as at its side
edges. The elastic layer 14 of the envelope means 10 is made up of
a pair of woven elastic sheet material layers 4 shown in FIG. 1,
these layers being adhered to the exterior surfaces of the strips 2
by the adhesive layers 3 indicated in FIG. 1. The adhesive coatings
3 serve to elastically fix the woven elastic layers 4 to the
exterior surface of the foil 2.
The elastic strips 2 thus form a pair of elongated opposed wall
portions of the envelope means 10 which has the generally flat
configuration shown in FIG. 2, and these strips 2 have inner
surfaces which carry one of a pair of materials which, when
combined, react to assume a hardened condition. Thus, the inner
surfaces of the strips 2 are coated with hardener coatings 5 which
when contacted by the unsaturated polyester resin stored by the
storing means 1 will provide the polymerization and resulting
hardening of the structure. Initially, however, the coatings 5 are
separated from the polymerizable material with which the glass
fiber fleece 1 is impregnated by a separating means 16 which, as
shown in FIG. 2, has a pair of separating portions each provided
with opposed side edges joined with the inner surface of the
envelope means 2 so as to define with the latter a pair of chambers
in which the pair of hardener coatings 5 are respectively
maintained in a condition separated from the glass fiber fleece 1
and the polymerizable material with which the latter is
impregnated. As is shown particularly in FIG. 1, the separating
means is composed of a pair of apertured sheet material layers 6
respectively located directly next to the hardener coatings 5 at
the surfaces thereof opposed to the inner surfaces of the strips 2,
and by way of an adhesive layer 7 each of the apertured strips of
sheet material 6 is joined with a covering sheet material 8 which
serves to cover and close the apertures of the sheet material 6,
this layer of sheet material 8 having the property of rupturing in
response to stretching of the envelope means 10.
The glass-fiber fleece layer 1 is made up of monofilaments each
having a fiber diameter of substantially less than 18 .mu.
(nanometer, nm). Preferably the diameter of each monofilament is
between 6 and 12 .mu.. The individual filaments are coated with an
adhesive medium preferably containing silan, such as, for example,
a silanol. The monofilaments are elastically connected to each
other with a suitable binder.
The above-described layer of glass-fiber fleece is impregnated with
the polymerizable material which preferably is an unsaturated
polyester resin which is neither too brittle nor too elastic and
which corresponds in its mechanical stiffness values to the desired
purpose. This glass-fiber fleece is impregnated with such an amount
of the polymerizable material that the fleece acts in the manner of
a sponge for holding the polymerizable material with the ratio of
the polymerizable material per unit of area of the fleece being
maintained constant with respect to the amount of hardener coating
per unit of area at the inner surface of the envelope means.
A particularly suitable polymerizable material is a physiologically
compatible polyester, obtained in a known way, and in which
different diols, which have up to 6 carbon atoms, are esterized
with a mixture of maleic acid anhydride and phthalic acid
anhydride. The refractive indices of the glass fiber fleece and the
unsaturated polyester are for the most part identical so that the
desired transparency is assured, with the matching of these
refractive indices being improved by the addition to the
polymerizable material of up to 20% of acrylic and methacrylic acid
esters as well as epoxy resins, to improve the transparency. In
order to prevent yellowing of the polymerization product an
additive capable of absorbing ultraviolet rays is desirable. Also
it is desirable to provide the polymerizable material, particularly
the unsaturated polyester, with a self-extinguishing or
flame-limiting medium such as antimony trioxide, chlorinated
paraffin, or the like, so that in this way the polyester will not
be easily ignitable. In addition to the above additives the
polymerizable material such as unsaturated polyester resin can also
contain polymerization inhibitors, aromatic and coloring
substances, as well as fillers of different raw materials and
corresponding accelerators, preferably on the basis of a tertiary
amine.
The plastic foil 2 which forms the inner layer of the envelope
means is transparent and is also chemically inert as well as
impervious to all fluids, and in addition it is physiologically
inert and biologically stable. This plastic foil 2 has a thickness
on the order of 6-12 .mu., and it has a high bending index, which
is to say it is greatly resistant to flexing in opposite
directions, and in addition it is highly resistant to tearing and
impact forces. These requirements are preferably fulfilled by a
polyester foil which has all of the required properties except
flexibility which is required for better adapting of the wrapper to
the surface on which it is wound. The manufacture of the tubular
envelope is brought about by joining together the side edges of the
foil strips 2 by welding, gluing, and/or seaming, so that the
glass-fiber fleece which is impregnated with the polymerizable
material is tightly closed on all sides off from the surrounding
atmosphere. In order to improve the welding of the poorly weldable
polyester foil, it is desirable to coat the foil on the one hand
with a polyethylene foil and to provide, on the other hand, an
adhering of the strips to each other with an adhesive which is
resistant to the polymerizing, preferably a polyurethane
adhesive.
The adhesive layer 3 is made up of a transparent corresponding
high-molecular, physiologically compatible and biologically stable
adhesive having the required adhesive properties with respect to
the plastic foil and the woven elastic layer 4. Such an adhesive
coating can advantageously be polyvinylisobutylether in dissolved
or dispersed form.
The woven elastic layer 4 must have the capability of returning to
its original substantially unstretched condition while being highly
stretchable longitudinally and of low stretchability transversely,
while at the same time also being transparent. These requirements
are fulfilled by a weave in which the warp yarns are made of highly
elastic fibers such as, for example, polyurethane fibers as well as
monofilaments and multifilaments of crinkled synthetic fibers such
as polyamide and polyester fibers. The weft yarn is composed of
thin monofilaments, preferably dull polyester or polyamide fibers
for example in the form of a taffeta weave.
This woven elastic layer with the above-described warp and weft
yarns can be manufactured in different ways in accordance with the
type of weave and the density thereof. The construction of the
weave, however, is specially designed so that shifting of the
individual windings of the wrapping with respect to each other is
avoided. This is brought about by providing the yarns with a
crinkled configuration having individual loops which interlock with
each other so that the windings of the wrapping of the invention
will be prevented from shifting even when placed around a joint
such as an elbow or a knee where there is a relatively high degree
of movability. Thus, shifting of the wrapping with respect to the
skin is avoided. The weft yarns which are situated between the
elastomeric warp yarns in crinkled form, such as monofilament or
multifilament polyamide or polyester yarns interlocked with each
other because of their looped configuration. Thus, the wrapping of
the invention is correspondingly thin, impervious to moisture and
capable of being sterilized while at the same time being absolutely
inert with respect to human skin and being incapable of biological
decomposition. Moreover, the wrappings of the invention can be used
by themselves as fixing elements which will not shift with respect
to each other.
In order to render the wrapper of the invention physiologically
compatible in the field of medicine, it is required that the
above-described polyurethane, polyamide, and/or polyester fibers
have no coatings in the form of dyes or finishing materials which
will result in allergic or other skin-damaging reactions. The
physiological inertness of polyester foil and the polyester fibers
is clear from the fact that this material cannot have any
components extracted therefrom when heated through a range of up to
260.degree. C. As already pointed out above, the raw material for
the foils and fibers are absolutely biologically stable and cannot
be biologically decomposed. The above-mentioned absolute
requirements for physiological inertness and biological stability
are fulfilled by the polyester foils and fibers as a completely
polymerized product.
In accordance with one of the important features of the present
invention, the woven elastic layer 4 is initially placed in
stretched condition on the plastic foil 2 which, as described
above, is first coated at its exterior with a flexible, transparent
and physiologically inert adhesive layer. This fixing of the
elastic layer 4 to the foil 2 with the elastic in its stretched
condition is required so that the non-flexible and non-stretchable
foil used for the strips 2 will be longitudinally compressed and
will assume the crinkled condition illustrated in FIG. 3 when the
tension is released from the elastic layer 4 so that the latter
contracts to assume its substantially relaxed, unstretched
condition while the foil itself assumes the condition of crepe.
Thus, with the elastic woven layer 4, initially adhered to the
plastic foil in stretched condition, the subsequent release of the
tension in the elastic will permit the latter to contract while
crinkling the foil. In this way the foil 2 which otherwise would
have no elastic properties is rendered flexible and stretchable and
is capable of conforming to any configuration on a body on which
the wrapper is wound. Thus, by way of this expedient the elastic
layer of the envelope means provides the latter with the required
elasticity.
As was pointed out above, the strips 2 are coated at their inner
surfaces with the hardener layer 5. The hardener layer is composed
preferably of peroxides preferably benzoil peroxide which is easily
dissolved in an organic solvent and by way of a peroxide binder
which is not oxidizable, such as preferably polyvinyl acetate, is
adhered and fixed to the inner surface of the foil 2 in an amount
which has the proper relationship per unit of area to the
polymerizable material. For this purpose the outer edge regions of
the separating layer 6 are welded to the inner surface of the foil
and then the pair of foil strips 2 are welded to each other at
their side edges to form the tubular envelope, with the free side
edges of the separating layer 6 being situated beyond the peroxide
layer 5 against the plastic foil 2.
The non-oxidizable adhesive layer, preferably polyvinyl acetate, as
referred to above in addition to adhering the hardener layer 5 to
the foil 2 serves also to desensitize the peroxide and increase its
stability and in addition serves at the same time as an agent for
promoting the combining of the peroxide with the polymerizable
material while avoiding an undesirably high exothermic
reaction.
In order to achieve as uniform as possible a distribution of the
peroxide, the peroxide is uniformly applied with respect to the
entire surface of the foil 2 which is coated with the peroxide,
with the amount of peroxide corresponding to a desired amount per
unit of the polyester, and at the same time the wide extent of
distribution over a large area assures a wide-area uniform contact
and uniform mixing with the polyester and thus a uniformly
controlled polymerization and hardening of the polymerizable
material without developing too much heat as a result of the
exothermic reaction.
As a result of the fact that the organic peroxide crystallizes out
on the inner surface of the adhesive which joins it to the foil,
the transparent foil 2 becomes non-transparent. However, during
use, which is to say after rupture of the separating means and
release of the polymerizable material to flow through the
previously closed openings of the apertured layer 6, the combining
of the hardener 5 with the polymerizable material results in mixing
of the hardener with the polymerizable material and the regaining
of the transparent property. As a result of the fact that the
structure becomes transparent when used, which is to say the
separating means ruptures in response to stretching of the envelope
means to permit the peroxide and polymerizable material to combine,
the wrapper of the invention becomes transparent after being wound
onto a body and this transfer to the transparent from the
non-transparent state gives an indication and measure of the
completeness of the combining, which is to say the dissolving or
mixing of the hardener with the polymerizable material, so that
this reaction can be visually controlled when the wrapper is
applied to one or more bodies by being stretched and wound thereon,
and it is even possible to control the action in accordance with
the visual perception of the transfer from non-transparent to
transparent condition. Thus, by noting that the wrapper has assumed
a transparent condition it becomes possible for the user to assure
himself that the required complete hardening of the polymerizable
material has reliably occurred.
Furthermore, the relatively flat configuration of the wrapper which
has a small thickness and a large surface area assures an intense
heat transfer to carry away the heat of the exothermic reaction. In
order to assure a thorough hardening, a corresponding combination
of different organic peroxides with corresponding accelerators and
inhibitors is desirable. In particular, the gelling time without
reducing the entire hardening time is lengthened in such a way that
the readily removable, low-molecular polyester molecules and
styrene molecules of the hardener layer are sufficiently active.
The amount of additive must have a corresponding relationship with
respect to the amount of polymerizable material which is to be
hardened, and this may vary in case to case so as to achieve the
requirements of a particular application. The above requirements
can be reinforced if the polyester has a corresponding make-up and
utilizes a combination of different monomers, the selection of
which is not critical.
The hardener layers 5 are separated from the polyester-impregnated
glass-fiber fleece layer 1 by the separating means which includes
the apertured separating sheet material 6 adhered by the adhesive
layer 7 to the covering sheet material 8, as pointed out above. The
types of apertures with which the sheet material 6 is provided are
not critical. It is only necessary to perforate the sheet material
6 in such a way that after mechanical rupture of the covering sheet
material 8 there will be sufficient contact between the hardener
and the polymerizable material. In order to avoid an undesirable
premature contact between the polyester-impregnated glass-fiber
fleece and the hardener layer 5, the perforated or apertured sheet
material 6 is welded at its side edges, laterally beyond the
peroxide layer 5, with the foil 2, or the side edge regions of the
sheet material 6 can be glued to the inner surface of the foil 2 by
utilizing an adhesive which is inert with respect to polyester. The
apertured sheet material 6 which preferably is made of a saturated
polyester is transparent and resistant to water and chemicals, has
an extremely small thickness, and is inert with respect to the
polymerizable material and the hardener. The perforated sheet
material 6 is coated with the adhesive layer 7 which preferably is
polyurethane, which is also inert with respect to the polymerizable
material and the hardener, so that the covering sheet material 8 of
the separating means may be fixed with the apertured sheet material
6 while remaining inert with respect to the polymerizable material.
The transparent covering sheet material 8 which is inert with
respect to the polymerizable material and the hardener and which
has a suitable mechanical stiffness must be so brittle that as a
result of the flexible deformability of the foil 2, or in other
words of the outer envelope means, to the inner surface of which it
is fixed together with the apertured sheet material 6, the sheet
material 8 will become mechanically ruptured as a result of the
flexible deforming of the wrapper of the invention and thus will
release or uncover the openings of the sheet material 6. For use as
the covering sheet material 8 urea formaldehyde resin has proved to
be particularly suitable, this latter material being inert with
respect to the hardener and polymerizable material. The separating
or covering sheet material 8 ruptures in response to the flexible
deformation of the foil 2 as well as from simple hand-pressure and
also as a result of the longitudinal stretching of the envelope
means when the latter is wrapped around one or more bodies. The
mechanical rupturing of the covering sheet material provides
particles of the sheet material 8 which become embedded in the
product of polymerization after polymerizing of the polymerizable
material with which the glass-fiber fleece 1 is impregnated,
without causing in this way any loss in the mechanical stiffness or
transparency of the polymerized product.
In a special embodiment of the invention the wrapper is provided at
its exterior surface with a plastic layer 20, shown at the lower
part of FIGS. 2 and 3, composed in a known way of plastic sheets
which enclose air bubbles so as to form a cushion layer for
protecting the skin of an individual on to which the wrapper is
wound. Thus, when in the field of medicine prominent parts of the
body are to be protected against rubbing and chafing, the wrapper
of the invention will maintain the desirable transparency while at
the same time protecting the skin of the individual against injury
as a result of the presence of the cushion layer 20. While this
layer may be first placed over the skin before the wrapper of the
invention is applied it is also possible to adhere the layer of air
cushions 20 to the wrapper to form a part thereof with the layer 20
being placed in contact with the skin.
The manufacturing of the wrapper structure of the invention takes
place with known methods for manufacturing tapes which are applied
with coatings, while at the same time, of course, providing the
requirements for the wrapper of the invention.
The immobilizing wrapper of the invention provides in itself, even
at thicknesses of only 1 mm such a high degree of mechanical
stability that circular wrapping of one convolution substantially
entirely upon another is not required for a body part in the field
of medicine. Instead the wrapper of the invention can be wound
spirally with a relatively small amount of overlap from one
convolution to the next on parts of the body such as joints at the
elbow and knee, and the wrapper of the invention will prevent
build-up of moisture as was undesirably encountered with previously
known plaster or plastic bandages which because of their relatively
small degree of mechanical stiffness had to be circularly wound a
number of times, and thus the wrapper of the invention will avoid
any maceration or damaging of the covered skin.
The manner in which the wrapper of the invention is spirally wound
on a joint such as an elbow is illustrated schematically in FIG. 4.
Thus FIG. 4 shows a wrapper 22 of the present invention spirally
wound on an elbow of an individual. As a result of this spiral
winding there will be several convolutions which overlap each
other. In order to assure against shifting of the winding in a
longitudinal direction, which is important in the case of
vertically arranged windings in the field of medicine, so as to
provide a sufficient stability and immobilization for the body
part, the overlapping or crossing windings as well as the ends of
the wrapper should be fixed to each other. This fixing can be
provided with suitable fastener means 24, a pair of which are
schematically represented in FIG. 4, with the details of the
fastener means 24 being shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. It will be seen
that this fastener means 24 has a pushbutton type of construction.
The entire fastener means 24 is preferably made of transparent
polystyrene and at one end has a head 26 provided with a relatively
stable pointed shank 28 which pierces through the wrapper 22 and
snaps into a receiver portion 30 of the fastener means 24. Thus,
the parts 26, 30 are interconnected by a springy U-shaped portion
32 which is integral with the parts 26 and 30 enabling the part 30
to be placed between the skin and the wrapping while the part 26 is
located at the exterior of the wrapping to be pushed into the
receiver 30, snapping into the latter while piercing through the
wrapping and thus fastening a pair of overlapping wrapper portions
to each other. Additional fixing of the fastened wrapper portions
to each other is achieved with this construction in that the
monomer portion of the polymerizable material such as styrene is
released from the shank 28 which is made of polystyrene and thus in
a manner similar to a rivet the shank undergoes a fixed connection
with the polymerizable material in the interior of the wrapper of
the invention. The receiver portion 30 and the pushbutton portion
26 close tightly together and prevent any running out or leakage of
the highly viscous polymerizable material during the polymerizing
phase, so that there is no undesirable leakage of the polymerizable
material from the wrapper of the invention. Because of the presence
of the U-shaped portion 32 it is possible to slip the part 30
between the skin and the wrapping to the desired location, and the
operator can place a finger between the part 30 and the skin as
well as a thumb over the part 26 pressing the parts 26 and 30
together without causing any undesirable pressure on the body
part.
The finished wrapper structure of the invention is protected by
being placed in a closed container which is impervious to water and
ultraviolet rays. The cushioning layer 20 also serves to prevent
undesirable vibration of the wrapper while it is stored and thus a
premature rupturing of the separating means with premature
hardening in the container is avoided. In accordance with the
particular environmental conditions, certain adaptations are made.
Thus, in relatively hot climates and in relatively cold zones, in
order to assure a sufficient polymerizing of the polymerizable
material it is necessary to vary the amount of hardener with
respect to the amount of polymerizable material. Thus, in
relatively cold climates the amount of hardener supplied per unit
of polymerizable material is greater while in relatively hot
climates the amount of hardener provided per unit of polymerizable
material is less.
* * * * *